


Patrick Stump, Super Nanny

by orphan_account



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-05 00:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete hires Patrick to be Bronx's nanny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Patrick Stump, Super Nanny

**Author's Note:**

> Banged this out in a few hours with a quick read-through by one of my friends. Not entirely happy, but it's just pure fluff so, enjoy.

The day Ashlee left a stack of divorce papers on the kitchen counter of their L.A. home was the day that Pete’s world came crashing down. She’d filled out and signed what she needed to, not asking for anything out of the divorce except joint custody of their one year old son. Pete agreed, and the divorce was finalized just after Bronx’s second birthday. Pete took up smoking that same month and quit about three months later.

Ashlee moved to New York and Pete moved back to Chicago, making visitation a little bit easier on both of them. Pete didn’t really harbor any anger towards his ex-wife. She was unhappy, and Pete would be lying if he said that their marriage was really _fulfilling_ for him. Being a nobody married to a celebrity was a lot of work, Pete conceded. Dinner parties, celebrity birthdays, movie premieres--Pete hated spending so much time in the spotlight, just wanted to be at home with his wife and son. That’s when the fights started, when Ashlee would accuse him of being jealous because of her success, being resentful that she’s not the picture perfect wife and mother that he wanted her to be. 

His mom was gracious in lending a helping hand while Pete looked for work. He and his son stayed with her for a couple of months while arranging to move into a small, two-bedroom home in the suburbs. Ashlee visited a few times and Pete’s mother was a little less than friendly towards her, but resigned to letting Ashlee spend time with Bronx in the living room. 

Once Pete and Bronx were settled into their new home, Pete immediately began his work as a paralegal for one of the big name lawyers in the greater Chicago area, Mr. David Adelstein. Mr. Adelstein was impressed with Pete’s degrees in Political Science and Paralegal Studies, which Pete had decided to pursue after opting out of law school. Even with Pete’s lack of experience (being married to a celebrity meant Pete could be a stay-at-home dad), Mr. Adelstein gave Pete a chance to prove himself and began work for the law firm. 

\--

“I don’t know what to do about Bronx.” Pete says. He’s sitting outside a quaint coffee shop with Joe Trohman, a guy he’s been friends with for years and had been in a few bands with before leaving for Los Angeles. Joe lights a cigarette and Pete sips thoughtfully on his iced coffee, staring out at the busy street and rolling the balled up paper from the straw between his fingers. 

“What do you mean?” Joe asks, exhaling smoke from his nostrils. 

“I mean, I don’t want to leave him with my mom every day. I feel bad doing that to her, but I don’t want to leave him in a daycare all day either, y’know?”

Joe doesn’t know. He’s not a father, had never thought about it until he and Marie had a pregnancy scare that ended up being nothing. Kids aren’t really Joe’s thing. 

“Why don’t you hire a nanny?” Joe suggests, tapping the ending of his cigarette to clear the excess ash. “You could pay someone to look after Bronx while you’re at work. That way, you won’t feel like you’re taking advantage of your mom and you won’t have to worry about commuting to get Bronx from a daycare.” 

Pete opens and closes his mouth a couple of times before giving Joe a bright smile. “Joe Trohman, you are a goddamn genius.” 

Joe scoffs, “Tell me something I don’t know.” 

\--

As it turns out, hiring a nanny is a lot more tedious than Pete would have expected. He’s gathered a ton of resumes from hopeful applicants who want the full-time nanny position he advertised in the paper. Pete’s mom helps sort them out, tossing away bad choices ( _“Peter, she has yellow teeth, she’s definitely a smoker!”_ ) and sifting the rest into the “maybe” pile. 

Pete doesn’t think there’s much hope as he looks at the dwindling files in the “maybe” category. He’s down to the last four options and tosses out one for listing that he’s a vegan and believes that children should be vegan as well. Pete doesn’t want that for Bronx. 

“Bronx, sweetie, get that out of your mouth, that’s icky.” Pete’s mom coos, coaxing a resume out of his mouth. Bronx just giggles and decides to play with his Elmo doll instead. She reads over the slobbered-on papers and then hands them to Pete. “What about this one? He seems pretty good.” 

His name is Patrick Stump. He’s looks quite a bit younger than Pete, but he’s had more experience working with children than most of the other applicants, plus he has a degree in Child Development. 

“Yeah, I think he might be my best option.” 

\--

Patrick is actually way better than Pete had ever expected. When he shows up at Pete’s apartment for the interview (which is what Pete said on the phone, but really, he wants Patrick to work for him like, right now) he’s wearing khakis and a light blue button-up shirt with the first two buttons undone. He has a black trilby on and a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. He smiles at Pete and sticks out his hand. 

“Hi, I’m Patrick. You must be Pete?” Patrick asks. Pete nods and ushers Patrick into the house. 

“Sorry for the mess,” Pete apologizes, “Bronx likes to throw his toys around sometimes.” He kicks a path through the blocks and LEGOs on the floor and leads Patrick into the kitchen where they sit across from each other at the dining room table. 

Pete pulls out the resume Patrick submitted and thumbs through it. Patrick folds his hands on the table and casually glances around the house. 

“So, you’re pretty qualified to be working with kids. You have training in CPR and you’ve had experience working for a daycare and preschool.” 

“Yeah, my mom owned the daycare and I’ve worked there for a long time, but she recently closed it.” Patrick comments. 

“That’s a shame. What made you want to work with kids?” Pete asks. 

“I’ve been working with them pretty much my entire life. My mom opened the daycare when I was thirteen and I sort of just went with it. Kids are great and I just really enjoy working with them.” Patrick shrugs and smiles at Pete, who looks down at his files, smiling to himself. 

“I’m going to be straight with you: you’re the only person I’m actually ‘interviewing’ and I, like, _need_ you to work for me because holy shit you are a fucking godsend.” 

Patrick’s smile turns into a full grin as he asks, “Does this mean I’ve got the job?” 

Bronx scuttles into the kitchen and hides behind Pete who is shaking a very excited Patrick’s hand. He peers around his father’s legs as Pete explains that Patrick will be there to take care of him while he’s at work. 

“But what ‘bout Gwamma?” Bronx mumbles into Pete’s pant leg. 

“Grandma will come visit and you can always see her on the weekends, B.” Pete assures, patting the little blonde boy’s head lovingly. 

“C’mon, Bronx. You and I will have lots of fun. We can watch cartoons and eat cereal and go to the park whenever you want!” Patrick says. He squats down and Bronx reluctantly moves from Pete’s legs to address Patrick. 

“Will you colo’ wif me?” 

Patrick smiles and nods. “Of course.” 

 

\--

On Patrick’s first real day of work, he has to assure Pete again and again that they will be fine and that he can handle Bronx. Pete sighs and kisses Bronx on the forehead before rushing out the door. He’s anxious at work and has to restrain himself from checking in on Patrick so he buries himself in his work. The day drags on until it’s 6:00 and Pete can finally go home. 

He enters the house with an armful of takeout and smiles at the sight of his son covered in paint, sprawled out on the newspaper-covered carpet, and happily fingerpainting on a small canvas. Patrick is sitting across from him, watching him intently to make sure the paint stays on the canvas and off the carpets and out of his mouth. 

“Daddy!” Bronx shouts, hopping up and attaching himself to Pete’s leg. 

“Hey, little monster!” Pete greets, ruffling his blonde curls. “How was he?” he asks Patrick. 

Patrick stands up and stretches his arms above his head, wincing at the popping in his shoulders. “He was good. A little bit of a handful, but good. We watched Power Rangers and then we went to the park so he could play on the playground. Then, we came back and I made macaroni and cheese and he ate all of his carrots. Then we watched Sesame Street and then started finger painting. And now you’re home.” Patrick says. Pete smiles and makes his way to the kitchen, the two year old still attached to his leg. 

“That sounds really great. B, go wash your hands for dinner.” Pete says. Bronx detaches himself from his dad’s leg and rushes off to the bathroom. 

“He’s a really great kid.” Patrick notes. Pete smiles and shakes his head. 

“He’s my favorite little human.” 

Patrick shuffles awkwardly, staring down at the floor with his hands shoved deep in the pocket of his jeans. 

“I brought dinner.” Pete says, holding up a takeout box full of rice. “I got a few different things, I didn’t know what you liked.”

Patrick smiles, “Oh, uh, thanks, that’s really nice of you.” 

After dinner, Patrick leaves after Pete peels Bronx off of his leg, assuring that Patrick will be there tomorrow so they can play. 

“Have a good night!” Patrick calls out before he climbs into his car. Pete smiles and gives him a small wave before shutting the door. 

“I think it’s time to go to bed, little dude.” Pete says. Bronx rushes up the stairs to wait for his dad to help him into his pajamas and read him his nightly story. Pete cleans up the kitchen and smiles to himself, thinking how nice it was to have dinner with someone else at the table for a change. He goes to bed that night still thinking of Patrick. 

\--

The next few weeks go by and Pete becomes more and more grateful for Patrick’s presence. Pete’s boss starts keeping him later than usual, and by the time Pete stumbles into the house around 10:00 PM, Bronx is already in bed and Patrick is sitting on the couch watching Conan. 

“I’m so sorry for keeping you this late, Patrick. My boss is just really riding my ass about this report and--”

“It’s okay, it’s cool. This is my job, Pete. I don’t really do anything else and I like taking care of Bronx.”

Pete pays Patrick extra for his overtime and Patrick gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 

“Just breathe. Everything will be fine.” Patrick says. Pete tries to ignore the tingle that runs under his skin from Patrick’s touch. 

\--

“I think I’m into my nanny.” Pete announces at lunch a few days later. Andy looks up from his salad and raises an eyebrow. Joe just mimics the look and tilts his head to one side. 

“Isn’t your nanny a dude?” Joe asks. 

“Yeah.” Pete answers. Pete’s not exactly straight. He’s had more than a few trysts in his life to know that. The thing is, he’s never really had romantic feelings for a guy before. Most of his flings were based purely on sexual attraction and no real relationship ever came out of it. He’d never mentioned it to Ashlee, though the tabloids sure as hell tried to spread rumors, but everyone knew it was just speculation. 

“I mean, that’s cool, man. More power to you.” Andy says, raising his fist in the air before taking another bite of his food. 

“What does that mean, though?” Joe asks. 

Pete pokes at his pasta salad and sighs. “It means I’m fucking screwed.” 

\--

Pete takes a sick day on what would have been his and Ashlee’s fourth wedding anniversary. When he gets home, Patrick is watching cartoons with Bronx in the living room. Patrick gives him a confused look and Bronx greets him with a hug before returning to the couch. 

“Did something happen?” Patrick asks. 

Pete smiles tiredly and shakes his head. “No, just not feeling great. I’ll make lunch, you keep him entertained.” 

Pete puts a pot of water on to boil and heads into the pantry to find a box of pasta. As he searches through the food, an overwhelming feeling of soul-crushing sadness courses through him and suddenly he’s leaning against the shelves trying to choke down the sobs that bubble up in his chest. He closes the pantry door loudly and sinks down to the floor, his head in his hands as he cries. 

Patrick opens the pantry door and stares, concern written all over his face. Pete looks up at him, cheeks tear-stained and eyes bloodshot, and tries to smile. Bronx appears behind Patrick and Patrick immediately picks him up. 

“Why don’t we go outside and play in the backyard while your dad makes lunch, okay, B?” Patrick gives Pete a reassuring smile and nod before shutting the pantry door again. Pete’s never been more grateful for a human being in his entire life. 

\--

Pete starts to get suspicious when Patrick starts working on the weekends. He’s not sure when it started. The days have blurred together into one long work day as Pete is forced to work longer and longer hours at the office. On Fridays, he comes home with a binder full of paperwork and sets it down on the kitchen counter and Patrick just raises an eyebrow and continues to read to Bronx. 

When Patrick shows up for the third Saturday in a row, Pete finally questions him. 

“You don’t work weekends, Patrick. What’s up?” Pete asks, following Patrick into the kitchen as he sets his things down on the kitchen table. 

“I know you’ve been working a lot lately and I thought you could use the extra help. Where’s Bronx?” 

“He’s with my mom. She wanted to take him clothes shopping today and then they’re going to watch a movie.” 

“Oh,” Patrick says. He starts to reach for his things when Pete stops him. 

“You can still hang out here, if you want. You don’t have to do any work, obviously, but if you just want to hang out, that’d be cool.” Pete tries to say this with indifference, hoping his spazztic nervousness doesn’t show through at the prospect of hanging out with Patrick for the day.

“Oh,” Patrick repeats, staring at Pete and biting his lip in contemplation. Pete tries to push the dirty thoughts about Patrick mouth out of his mind by thinking of cold showers and his grandma naked. “I mean, I don’t know if it’s appropriate, Pete. You’re my employer.” 

“You call me Pete and you take care of my son. I don’t think we have a typical employer/employee relationship.” Patrick smiles and follows when Pete heads back into the living room. 

They spend the day talking and watching TV. Pete’s happy to finally relax a little bit and Patrick’s glad to be good company. The conversation steers in a completely different direction when Patrick tentatively asks about Pete’s divorce. 

“I totally understand if you don’t want to talk about it,” he quickly adds when he sees Pete’s pained expression. 

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s good to talk about things, right? Therapeutic or some shit?” And Pete talks about it and he doesn’t cry; he doesn’t really feel anything. The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he loved the idea of Ashlee more than he really loved Ashlee. He loves the idea of being in love, being married, and having a family and Ashlee just happened to be the pawn in all of those desires. He doesn’t want Bronx to grow up in a shitty, broken family like he did. That’s the part that’s killing him the most. 

Patrick is silent next to him and Pete glances over to see his glassy-eyed expression. He opens his mouth, prepared to break the tension from the sad soliloquy when Patrick leans over and pulls him into a tight hug. It takes Pete by surprise but he hugs him back, squeezing even tighter, and it feels like a certain weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. 

\--

In December, Ashlee comes to get Bronx to stay with her in New York for the month. She and Pete had agreed to the arrangement that he would have him over Thanksgiving, her over Christmas. Pete’s slightly upset that he won’t be able to spend the holiday with his son and watch him open his presents, but Ashlee promises to record his reactions to all of his gifts. 

Pete texts Patrick that he’ll have the month off and is surprised when Patrick still shows up at his doorstep Monday morning. 

“Patrick, you don’t have to work. Bronx is with Ashlee. I thought I texted you.” Pete says. He’s just woken up and rolled out of bed. The firm is getting Christmas week off, but Pete decided to take the week before and after off as well. He’s logged enough overtime at the office that he could take a whole month off if he wanted to, but he can’t. 

“I know, but it’s almost Christmas so I thought I’d bring you this.” Patrick thrusts out a large, Christmas-themed tin with a bright green bow on top. Pete opens it and finds it filled with thumbprint cookies with Hershey’s Kisses stuck in the middle. 

“These look delicious, Patrick. Thank you!” Pete says, pulling one out and shoving it into his mouth. He savors the sweetness and moans in content. Patrick chuckles and gives Pete a little salute. 

“You’re welcome. They’re courtesy of my mom, as a thank you for employing me. Which, by the way, thank you for employing me.” 

They stand in the doorway just looking at each other, when Patrick glances up and goes wide-eyed at the piece of mistletoe hanging above the door. 

“Oh, uh,” Patrick stammers. Pete smiles and shakes his head, signaling that Patrick doesn’t have to abide by the universal mistletoe code, but Patrick catches him by surprise and presses a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you later, Pete.” Patrick rushes down the lawn in into his car before Pete has even processed what just happened. 

\--

Pete doesn’t see Patrick after that, but he mails him a check with his payments for December along with a Christmas bonus. In January, after a big New Year celebration at Joe’s house, Pete picks up Bronx from the airport. Ashlee greets him with a hug and a smile before giving Bronx a kiss on the forehead and a reminder to be good. When they get home, Bronx tugs Pete into his room to show him all of the toys he got. 

Patrick comes to work right after the holidays when Pete texts him that Bronx is back home. He greets Pete with his normal early-morning chipperness that no human being should ever have ever. Bronx clamors down the stairs and immediately jumps into Patrick’s waiting arms. 

“Pat’ick!” Bronx shouts.

“Hey, little dude!”

Pete smiles when Bronx makes Patrick follow him to see his new toys that they can play with. Patrick shoots a heart-melting smile at Pete and disappears up the stairs with the hyperactive child. 

In the next few weeks, Pete goes to work and spends his days huddled at his desk, going through piles of work. He rubs his temples and sighs, wishing that he could just be at home with Bronx. He stares at the paperwork in front of him and suddenly feels sick and angry. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He wanted to spend more time with his son, and now he’s married to his work. He doesn’t want to be one of those neglectful fathers who puts work before his kids. 

Pete makes his way to Mr. Adelstein’s office and knocks quietly. 

“Come in!” his voice booms from behind the door. 

“Mr. Adelstein, it’s me, Pete Wentz.” Pete stammers, suddenly very frightened by his boss. 

“Ah, yes! Mr. Wentz, come in! What can I help you with?” 

Pete swallows the lump in his throat and exhales shakily. “Mr. Adelstein, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but, I’m putting in my two weeks notice.” 

Mr. Adelstein’s smile drops and he furrows his brow in confusion. “Why? Are you not happy here?”

“It’s not that I’m unhappy working here, it’s just...well, I want to spend more time with my son and my hours are killing me and I’m always exhausted and I’m starting to see him less and less.” Pete explains. Mr. Adelstein nods and folds his hands on his desk. 

“Mr. Wentz, have a seat, and shut the door, please.” Pete closes gently closes the door and sits in the black leather chair set across from his boss. “Now, this is not something I normally do for any regular employee, but there’s something about you that I just like. As you know, you can’t work as a paralegal from home as paralegals must be under the supervision of a licensed attorney while they work. But, I _can_ offer you a position in the firm that will allow you to work from home and will significantly cut back on how many hours you have to work. It doesn’t pay as much, but it’s better than nothing.” 

Pete’s stares at Mr. Adelstein in disbelief and grins so hard it feels like his face might break in half. 

“Whatever it is, sir, I would be happy to do it.” 

Pete leaves early that day, elated by his new job as a marketing associate for the firm. He still has to go into the office occasionally for meetings with other marketing staff members, but it definitely beats working 60 hours a week in an office. 

He bursts into his home and Patrick jumps and falls back from his spot on the couch. Bronx giggles and runs over to his dad. Pete picks him up and gives him a loud kiss on the cheek before setting him back on the floor. 

“You’re home early.” Patrick says from his spot on the floor, rubbing the back of his head and adjusting his glasses. 

“Yeah, and I have the best news. My boss moved me to another position so I can start working from home! Which means I can spend more time with my little human!” Pete exclaims. He leans down and hugs Bronx, shaking him a little. Bronx just laughs and runs over to where Patrick is sitting. 

Patrick looks deflated, and Pete quirks an eyebrow. “I guess this means I’ll be out of a job?” Patrick asks. The question was meant to sound good-natured, but there’s a hint of disappointment that makes Pete’s heart ache. 

“No! Pa’tick don’t go!.” Bronx shouts and hugs Patrick. Patrick smiles and ruffles the small boy’s hair before smiling up at Pete. 

“Bronx, why don’t you go get ready for your nap?” Patrick suggests. They both watch as he crawls up the stairs. Patrick stands up and dusts himself off before sticking his hand out to Pete. “It’s been really nice working for you, Pete.” 

“Wait, what? Patrick, no, I like having you around!” Pete says, shaking his head. 

“Pete, I don’t think...this isn’t going to work out, anyway. It’s probably for the best. You’re my employer and I’m starting to feel…I mean, I just don’t think…it’s not appropriate if I...you’re not even...” Patrick’s at a loss for words, and Pete raises his eyebrows so high that they might disappear into his hair. 

“Not even what, Patrick?” Pete asks, a smirk forming on his face. Patrick turns red and looks away from Pete. 

“Nothing! Forget I said anything, it’s stupid.” Patrick turns to head towards the stairs but Pete catches him by the wrist. 

“Patrick, please stop me if I’m being, like, presumptuous or anything, but if what you’re saying means that you have, y’know, _feelings_ for me, then I want you to know that it’s totally not inappropriate and is also completely requited.” Pete says. Patrick’s face burns with a blush and he looks down at the carpet between his socks. 

“Oh,” he mumbles.

They’re both silent and Pete starts to regret what he’s said when Patrick looks up at him and gives him a shy smile. 

“I still don’t think it’d be appropriate for us to date if you’re paying me to be a nanny.”

Pete smiles. “Then I won’t pay you. And you can be here as often as you want, and, like, stay the night and stuff. With me. In my bed.” 

Patrick shakes his head. “But what about work?” 

Pete thinks for a moment and immediately pulls out his phone to look through his contacts. “There are a ton of people who work at the firm that would kill for a great nanny.” He holds up a finger to Patrick as his phone rings and Patrick watches him, slightly confused. “Hey, Therese? It’s Pete. Listen, you mentioned the other day when we were talking that you were looking to hire a nanny. Well, see, now that I’m working from home, I don’t really need one anymore, so mine is on the market. Do you want his number?” 

Patrick grins as Pete reads off Patrick’s cell phone number to her. When he hangs up, Patrick wraps his arms around Pete’s waist and hugs him tightly. 

“Thank you so much.” 

“Mm, it’s the least I could do for my super nanny.”


End file.
